Taxi Confessions
by Spuffels
Summary: AU:Buffy retells the story of her husband Angel, her affair with Spike, and her return to LA 8 years later with a son only to meet her two lovers as business partners and friends to a Taxi Driver. Who will Buffy fall for? Who is her son's father?BABS
1. Confession in a Taxi

My Confession to a Taxi Driver  
  
The rain pounded hard on the cracked cement sidewalk outside of an old brick New York City apartment building. It was around 11:00 at night and the street in front of the apartment was empty. The only sound that could be heard was the constant tapping of the rain against the building and a cat searching through the dumpster in the side ally.. Suddenly, the old green door to the apartment slammed open. A blonde woman about 27 years old stumbled out dragging a trunk and yelling something that could barely be heard over the thundering and pounding of the rain.  
"Tommy! Tommy! TOMMY! Get your little butt out here! We need to leave now! Tommy! Where are you?" She screamed.  
"Mommy! We can't leave Bert!" a young boy replied back from out of the window right above the door.  
"That stupid dog" she muttered to herself. "Don't worry Tommy. Mrs. Peters promised to take care of him."  
"But he won't understand. He needs me!" the boy of about 8 years old answered.  
"Honey, the dog will be fine. You need to come down here right now. We need to go! Grab your coat and come down."  
"But Bert!" the little boy whined.  
"Tommy! Get your butt down here now before you make mommy any madder than she already is!"  
"Okay..." he said reluctantly. The little boy's head disappeared from the window seal and the blonde woman continued to drag the beaten trunk to the curb. She sat down on it and waited for her son. The only light there was a street lamp that flickered as it was soon to burn out, but anyone could easily see in her face that she was tired and upset. There was a creaking noise and she turned around to see her brown haired son slowly shuffle his feet towards her in the rain, reluctant to go. She motioned for him to sit down on the trunk with her and he did. He laid his head on her shoulder as they continued to get soaked.  
"Mommy, what are we doing?"  
"Remember sweetie, we're going on a long trip...just as soon as a lousy taxi driver will come and pick us up."  
"Ok mommy...you promise Bert will be alright?"  
"Yeah, just go to sleep now."  
The two waited for another half hour as the rain continued to soak them and then the long-waited-for headlights of a yellow taxi came from around the corner onto the once empty street. She waved at the taxi while still sitting down and it pulled over to the curb next to her. She picked up her sleeping son as the taxi driver came out and got her trunk and stuck it in the back. He was a strong man who was in his late 20's also. He had dark hair, a great smile, and was wearing a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt which made him seem slightly gay, but when she climbed into the back of the taxi, she saw a picture of what she assumed to be his girlfriend and him. She put her sleeping son in the seat next to her and put on his seat belt. The taxi driver sat down in the driver's seat and looked back at her.  
"Where are you headed?" he asked.  
"The airport please."  
"One airport coming!"  
They sat in silence for awhile. The little boy continued to sleep as his mother thought about how she was probably ruining this poor taxi driver's car by dripping all over it, while she stared out the window. The taxi driver then decided to break the silence.  
"I'm Xander...Harris. And your name miss?"  
"Buffy. Buffy Summers."  
"Nice to meet you Buffy Summers. So where's your flight to today...or should I say tonight, or soon this morning." He chuckled to himself but then stopped as soon as he saw that Buffy was not chuckling. "I guess its not that funny."  
"Sorry, I'm going to L.A."  
"Oh, nice city. Used to live there myself. I worked as a bar tender there. Best damn bar tender in the city!" She looked at him disapprovingly.  
"Well, maybe within four blocks, but I was pretty good. So, why are you going to L.A. miss Summers?"  
She stared at the floor of the taxi which was covered with gum, tissues, fries, and eww....was that a dead rat? She continued to stare and then she saw something that she hoped was just for him and his girlfriend but made her want to move out of her seat because she didn't know what they had been doing in that taxi.  
"Miss Summers? Buffy?"  
"Oh, sorry. I'm going to get away...or actually...go back...or...its complicated."  
"Oh, do you have family there?"  
"Yes, well kind of, not really, maybe, ugg....that's complicated too... Tommy, my son, his father lives there."  
"Oh, so you're going back to see your husband then."  
"No, well, ...ugg, that's complicated too. Can you lay off the tough questions? You wouldn't understand."  
"Oh, ok. So its one of those complicated things that us taxi drivers don't understand."  
"No! Its nothing to do with you being a taxi driver its just...my life is a mess! Ok?" Buffy started to tear up and Xander saw this and became silent for awhile.  
"I'm sorry Miss Summers. I didn't mean to make you that upset. Maybe I could help?"  
"I doubt it. Anyways, why would you want to listen to my problems. No one else does. It would just end up depressing you and making you feel sorry for me and I don't need any sympathy. I know that I fu**ed up and I've gotten over it."  
"I don't think you have by the way those tears are streaming down your face. Go on, you can tell me what's wrong. Remember, I'm an ex- bartender! It was my job to listen to people's problems...and get them drunk...which gave me lots of money, which made Anya my girlfriend very happy, which in turn made me extremely happy, like that time we were in this taxi and I'm going to far aren't I?"  
  
Buffy chuckled at this.  
  
"It's a long story." She said.  
"I've got a while. When's your flight?"  
"To be honest, I don't have a plane ticket yet."  
"Well then I'm hear to listen for as long as you like."  
"Alright, but let me tell you in advance, it's not a pretty story, and I don't know how its going to end. Eight years ago, I was married to the perfect man and lived the perfect life. Then, I made the biggest mistake of my life..." 


	2. Flashbacks and Deja Vu

***AUTHOR'S NOTE*** I AM SOOOOO INCREDIBLY SORRY THAT THIS HASN'T BEEN UPDATED IN LIKE A MONTH...OR MORE! I have been so busy...try 2 research papers, 2 Speech tournaments, and a tournament at State with an 8 hour bus ride sitting next to the most annoying person in the world...trust me, if I had my computer, this would have been updated and she would have been dead....ok, so back to the story... here ya go!  
  
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As Buffy began to tell her tale to Xander, it seemed as if the taxi cab melted away and those eight years vanished...  
  
Buffy reluctantly began to open her eyes. Warm, muscular arms surrounded her. She was safe and warm. Sunlight began to pour through the window onto the white luxurious bed. Buffy never wanted to move; she wanted to stay like this forever.  
  
"Good morning sleepyhead." Said the voice to which the comforting arms, now hugging her tighter, belonged.  
  
"Mmmm...my Angel." She responded.  
  
"It's only 7:30. Go ahead and go back to sleep." Angel said in a whisper.  
  
"And miss this moment with you?"  
  
"I'll always be with you." Her lover told her.  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"Promise."  
  
And with that he gave her a passionate kiss and she drifted back to sleep in her lover's arms. She opened her eyes again several hours later, to find the warm body that was next to her when she awoke last time, no longer there. She looked around the room and then heard the banging of pots and pans and knew that he must be making...or at least attempting to make...breakfast.  
  
This was the happiest she had been in awhile. She had been married to Angel for slightly over a year, but the last three months had not been the happiest ones. When she had met Angel, he had been in his last year of law school, and she was simply a waitress at Déjà Vu, one of the most popular nightclubs in L.A. She began to think back to that time when they first met. He came to the club with some of his buddies for a post-midterm party, or simply a chance to get boozed up and snag a couple of girls. The group was completely wasted by 1:00 AM, but luckily Angel was able to hold his liquor a little better than the rest. As Buffy began to walk out to her car the group was right behind her, laughing and stumbling, and one of Angel's buddies decided it would be fun to bring Buffy back to the dorm with him. He caught up with her and began pestering her in almost incomprehensible slurred language, but she could tell what he wanted. Buffy continued to ignore him and began to rummage through her purse for her keys and walk at a faster pace towards her black volkswagen bug. She reached it and fumbled with the key in the hole when he decided to send her the message by giving her ass a firm squeeze. That was it, she had been hit-on by drunken men before, but it was late, she was tired, and she wanted to go home. She turned towards him and smiled.  
  
"I bet you're looking for some, right?" she said in a sweet, flirtatious tone, but he just looked back at her with a hungry stare.  
  
"Well, I don't usually like to do this, but because you want it so bad...alright." She said in the same tone. She reached in her bulky purse and pulled out her pepper spray and squirted its burning contents into his eyes. He stumbled backwards into another car and screamed out in pain. As he fell into the side of the car parked next to Buffy's, the car alarm went off causing the group to look back and realize that one of its members was gone.  
  
Buffy got her key in the door and opened it. She was about to get in, when the agonized man sprang up and decided to try a forceful approach this time. He shoved her up against her volkswagen and pressed himself against her. She struggled to get him off and whack him with her purse, but he was too strong. He took both of her tiny wrists in one of his hands and pressed his chapped lips against hers. She was angry that she was letting this happen, but the more she struggled, the more he pushed back. She tried to scream, but his rough lips muffled the sound. What could she do? Everything seemed hopeless. She wasn't ready to give up in her struggle when a large hand took the shoulder of her oppressor. The hand pushed the man off of Buffy and then threw a punch to the drunkard's head. The blow knocked him onto the cold asphalt and he appeared to be unconscious. Buffy looked at her savior. His dark eyes met hers and the panic that had stricken faded away.  
  
"Thank you." She said meekly.  
  
"I am so sorry that Ford acted that way. Normally he is a respectable guy, but there was no excuse for that. Are you alright?" Angel asked.  
  
"I will be. I wouldn't have been if it was for you, Mr...?" Buffy asked.  
  
"O'Connor, Angel O'Connor."  
  
"Wow, your parents named you truthful." She chuckled trying to  
lighten the situation.  
  
"I get that a lot." He responded.  
  
"Do you need any help miss? Anything I can do...God! I can't believe Ford did that. I wish I had realized what was going on... I wish I..." Angel continued.  
  
Buffy saw Angel began to sway and he had a glazed look in his eye. "Are you okay?" she asked  
  
"Yeah...I think. One too many beers...I need to pace myself next time. I'll be o..." At that moment Angel passed out and fell forward onto Buffy.  
  
"Great" she thought. She looked to his friends to take him, but they were already way ahead, and too drunk to leave her unconscious "Angel" with to take care of. She stood there for awhile to think about the possibilities. She could leave him here or possibly take him to the ER, but none of those ideas seemed good enough for the man that saved her life. She decided that she would take him back to her apartment and let him sleep it off.  
  
She shoved him into the backseat of her tiny bug and got in the front seat and pulled out of the parking lot. As she pulled onto the freeway, she began to think about what she was doing. Was she kidnapping this man? No, of course not...she knew him...for about two minutes...but she did know his name. That was good enough...as soon as he woke up though she would have to explain what was going on. She hoped that he would sleep it off until morning though. She pulled into the parking garage of her apartment building and dragged him out of the car. His feet scuffed against the rough cement and she hoped that none of her nosey neighbors were awake otherwise she would have a lot of explaining to do. She opened up the door and began to drag Angel down the narrow hallway. She was glad that she had the first apartment in the hallway.  
  
She managed to get the door open and drag Angel's limp body into the living room and lift him onto her spotless couch. She then got up and shut the door. She didn't want to turn on any lights as she walked towards her room. Angel moaned and she turned around to look at him and for some reason she was drawn to him. She walked slowly towards the couch and then took a seat on the wooden floor right next to the sleeping man. She sat there for what seemed like hours and stared at his angelically perfect features. The way his hair fell across his forehead and his perfect body. He was just entrapping. Her eyes couldn't leave him. She just had to stay there. She found a throw-pillow that had been thrown off the couch when she had laid him on there and laid her head down on it. She sat there staring up at him and fell asleep.  
  
She awoke early the next morning to find him staring right back at her.  
  
"Hello?" She said.  
  
"Mmm...good morning. God, my head is pounding." He responded.  
  
"I imagine it would be." She chuckled. "Listen, I wanted to thank you again for saving me last night."  
"Last night?...Oh! Ummm...it was nothing...I should be the one thanking you for... wow....how'd I get here?"  
  
Buffy laughed. "You passed out, right after you saved me."  
  
"Oh! Wow...I'm sorry...I feel like a complete idiot...well, thank you for letting me sleep it off. I'll try not to drink so much next time. Last night's very fuzzy...but thank you again."  
  
"It was no problem. You did more for me than I did for you." She said  
  
Angel tried to stand up, but was unable.  
  
"Umm...I think you should keep sitting for awhile." She recommended.  
  
"I think you're right." He laughed.  
  
"I'll get some coffee." Buffy got up and walked towards her kitchen.  
  
"That would be great." Angel said. "I don't know if it's just that the alcohol has wiped my memory, or if you just haven't told me, but, may I know your name miss?"  
  
"Oh...haha...I'm Buffy, Buffy Summers." She yelled from the kitchen.  
  
"Hello, Miss Summers. It's very nice to meet you."  
  
"Well, since you probably don't remember introducing yourself, it's very nice to meet you Angel." She said walking back with a tray and two coffee cups.  
  
"Ahh...so I was at least gentlemen enough to introduce myself."  
  
"Actually, you were quite a gentleman last night." She said.  
  
"So I didn't...?"  
  
"No, no not at all." She said giving him his coffee.  
  
"Good...good...I'm glad..." Angel said.  
  
"I'm sure that was supposed to be a complement, but am I that...?"  
  
"Are you kidding?"  
  
Buffy just stared him blankly. Angel stared back into her deep blue eyes and moved his lips towards hers. He kissed her deeply and passionately. A week later, Angel moved in and four months after that, they were married on a beach in Hawaii at sunset. They were the perfect couple...for a while at least. Three months ago, Angel was hired by L.A.'s biggest law firm, Giles & Associates. At first it was the simple 9 to 5 shift, but then 5 o'clock turned to 7 o'clock and 7 o'clock turned into 9 o'clock and soon, Buffy was asleep before Angel ever got home. They no longer ate dinner together, or did normal things that newlyweds are supposed to do. Angel continued to tell Buffy that it was just more cases that Mr. Giles was giving him because he was testing him for a promotion, and that excuse worked for awhile, but soon Buffy began to become suspicious. Would Mr. Giles really have Angel working that late? Buffy began to wonder if there was someone else. She was extremely happy when Angel was around, but that was rare and there was always the thought that there might be another woman, waiting off in a hotel room for him. About a week ago Buffy had told Angel that she was worried about their marriage because they weren't spending enough time together and Angel agreed. He decided to make it up to her by planning a romantic evening every night. Last night was the first of their plan to rekindle their marriage and Buffy began to think that this was going to work.  
  
Buffy sat up and took the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her. She walked slowly towards the kitchen. The wooden floor was cold against her bare feet. She peeked around the corner and saw her handsome husband rambling around the kitchen. "Wow, did he look hot in those black boxers of his" she thought. She stared for several minutes and then decided to go say hello to her lover.  
  
"Mmmm...Something smells good." She said in a flirtatious voice.  
  
"Good morning, again lovely. That goodness would probably have to be the eggs that I'm making and bacon that is in the oven.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking more of you." She said as she wrapped her arms around Angel and kissed him.  
  
"Mmmm...I see. I love you, sweetheart." He said completely smitten.  
  
"I know. I –" Buffy was cut off by the phone ringing. She sighed as Angel picked it up.  
  
"Hello? Yes Cordy...haha...ok...mhmm...ok...be there soon."  
  
"Work?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah...uh...sorry...that was Cordelia. There is a client that is going out of town and needs to speak with me before he leaves this morning."  
  
"Of course, right now?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry baby. I wish I didn't have to, but you know that I need to for this promotion."  
  
"Yeah I know. When will you be home?" Buffy asked.  
  
"It depends on Cordelia." He replied absentmindedly  
  
"Cordelia?" Buffy asked with a shocked tone.  
  
"Yeah hun, she's got my schedule."  
  
"Oh of course." She huffed.  
  
"I'll try to be home as soon as possible. I promise darling." He kissed her on the forehead and ran into the room to change.  
  
Buffy stared at the eggs burning on the stove. As they sizzled smoke began to rize and through the smoke, Buffy could think of only one thing...Cordelia.  
  
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll try to update again soon! I PROMISE! O! And don't worry! For all you Spikey fans, he should be showing up next chapter, bleached hair and all! I hope you liked this chapter and you review and again I'm sorry it took so long! 


	3. “Girl Jumps Off Building In Towel”

AUTHORS NOTE: WOW! Isn't this a miracle...another chapter so soon! Hope you liked the last one...yeah..it must be something in the air...and my new Beta, Kristen, Mucho Thanks 2 ya! Okey dokey! So...on to the story.  
  
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The door slammed and Angel was gone. Off to his precious work... or his precious Cordelia. Buffy stood in the middle kitchen and stared at the mess. Suddenly, bacon and eggs didn't sound all that appetizing. She began to walk towards the stove to pick up the pan and put it in the sink, but stopped. For some reason, it just didn't seem worth it anymore. Instead, she walked towards the bedroom and sat down on the bed. She just stared off into space...thinking, wondering, and most of all, remembering. She wished Angel was there with her now, she wished that she knew he was hers and only hers, and she wished that her head would stop filling with thoughts of suspicion and distrust. She knew that she had to be to the Déjà vu by 11:00, but she couldn't bring herself to get up and get in the shower. She laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, hoping that the world would fade away, but it didn't. Rather, she smelled his scent, his perfect scent, and the tears began to flow down her cheeks; streaking them and making them shine in the sunlight. Was she just overreacting or was she just stupid enough to ignore the signs until now? She had to find out the truth, even if it was the most painful thing she would ever feel. She just had to know. But how?  
  
She looked over at her side table and saw a picture taken from her wedding. Angel was in a fitted black tuxedo with his hair faultless and his eyes glowing with happiness and she was standing next to him in her gorgeous trailing wedding gown, with her hair in an up-do with just a few curls surrounding her exuberant face. The waves were crashing in the background and you could see that they were both barefoot. She laughed at this. They had been so happy. What went wrong? She just couldn't understand. They were supposed to live happily ever after, like Cinderella and her prince, but obviously, they weren't. It wasn't fair. Life just wasn't fair. She continued to stare at the precious moment caught in the photo and then an idea came to her. To the side of the happy couple, was her Maid of Honor, Willow, her life-long friend. They had been friends since the womb when their moms had been best friends. All of their problems and guiltless pleasures they had told each other...well, except for her problems with Angel. Buffy had been holding back any information on Angel's late nights. She hadn't told anybody; instead, she kept it locked inside, hoping that if no one knew, it wouldn't be a problem. But now that Buffy knew that this might be more serious than just a little missed time together, she began to think that maybe it was time for Willow to know.  
  
Buffy reached over and picked up the phone and stared at its buttons. She had dialed Willow's number over a thousand times, but the numbers seemed to blur together as the tears filled her eyes. She sat there for a minute and tried to convince herself that Willow was the only one that could help, but her stubborn streak was holding her back from dialing those seven little numbers. With the phone in one hand, she got up and walked to her closet and dropped the sheet. She reached in and pulled out a silk robe and tied tightly around her waste. She then slowly walked to the kitchen and found their alcohol cabinet. In between Angel's bottles of Vodka and Gin was a bottle of fine red wine. She set the phone down on the counter and pulled out the bottle and opened it. She then grabbed a large wine glass and began to pour the red substance until the glass was half full. She then picked up the glass and the phone and walked over to a wicker chair in the sitting room of the apartment. She put the phone down on the armrest and began to sip at her wine. She prayed that the liquor would wash away her fears, but it didn't. The more she drank, the more thoughts troubled her. She couldn't take it anymore. She picked up the phone, dialed, and waited as it rang.  
  
"Hello?" said the familiar voice on the other line.  
  
"Hey Willow...it's Buffy." Buffy said hesitantly.  
  
"Buffy! What's wrong?" Willow replied concerned.  
  
"Nothing's wrong." She attempted to say convincingly, but it was ruined when she sniffled.  
  
"Buffy! I've known you for your entire life and I can tell when you're not telling me the truth. You know you can tell me anything! Just spill!" Willow demanded.  
  
Buffy's lip began to quiver and she looked down at the carpet, wishing she had never dialed Willow's number. There was silence.  
  
"Buffy? Are you there?" Willow asked.  
  
"....yeah Wills...I'm here..." The silence continued for another minute. Neither wanted to speak. Finally, Buffy broke the silence, but in a whisper.  
  
"Will?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah Buffy?"  
  
"I think Angel's cheating on me."  
  
"What!?" Willow asked shocked.  
  
"...Can you meet me at the Déjà vu in an hour?" Buffy managed to get out in between sobs.  
  
"Yes! Buffy! Don't worry! Everything is going to be okay. I'll be there."  
  
Buffy didn't respond, she just hung up the phone and set it down on the table. She couldn't believe it. She had admitted that there was a problem. It was out in the open. It existed. There was no ignoring it and putting on a fake smile for everyone to see. It was there, and not going away. She drank the rest of the wine in one drink and then dropped the glass, shattering it on the wooden floor. She looked at the hundreds of little shards, and each one seemed to contain a happy memory of her and Angel, but now those memories were broken and disfigured. Her happy life with Angel now seemed fragmented and pointless.  
  
She knew Willow would be waiting for her and decided that she needed to get up. She needed Willow during this time. She stepped in between the shards of glass and walked to her shower and started the water. She didn't want a warm shower; a cold one would do. Any warmth would remind her of the warmth that she and Angel had once shared. She took off her robe and stepped in and let the water pour down. She tried to clear her mind and just focus on each bead of water pouring out of the showerhead.  
  
As the water poured down she leaned against the shower wall and let the tears fall. She remembered how last night, these thoughts would have never crossed her mind. The memories of last night began to play out before her eyes. She remembered when she wrapped her arms around Angels neck as he pressed him self against her, his hands running up and down her back the water beating down on them. As the memory began to go further, she couldn't take it anymore. The thought of Angel doing the things that he only did to her was not one that she could comprehend. She had to get out of the shower; she couldn't breathe. She stumbled out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She still wasn't getting enough air. She ran towards their balcony and stepped out. She walked to the rail and leaned out only to see hundreds of taxis and people below her; going on about their business as if everything was normal. Didn't anyone care? Did she anymore? She clung to the rail and stepped up on it and began to climb over. She was now on the other side of the railing. There was nothing between her and the end. She could stop all of the pain and confusion right now. She could just let it all go. No one would care. She would just be an inch of text in tomorrow's newspaper. She could see the headline now: "Girl Jumps Off Building In Towel" and right below it would be "Angel O'Connor Announces Engagement to Cordelia Chase." She wanted to puke...she wanted to die. She let one hand go; she was almost there. All she had to do was lift the other hand and the world would disappear, the pain would disappear. She stepped off the railing. She was there...almost. All that stood in her way was her second hand. The one that her wedding ring was on. The wedding ring seemed to glue her hand to that railing. But soon her hand began to sweat and she began to slip.  
  
"Buffy!"  
  
***AUTHORS NOTE*** IM SOOOOO SORRY! I promised Spike would be in this chapter didn't I? Crap! Well...forget that promise....he's going to be in it soon though! If not next chapter, then the one after that. This chapter was pretty much a Buffy only chapter and that's what it needed to be...but he will be in it soon...and there will be romance between them for all of u Spuffy fans. I promise! You will get your fix! O! And thanks again to Kristen for being a total superhero while I was writing this! 


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